There is no question that Enter the Dragon is one of the best action movies of all time. Bruce Lee may have been the finest martial artist on film and this was unfortunately the last movie he made before his untimely passing. Although it was directed by Robert Clouse, it's been said the film was really made by Bruce Lee himself. He was responsible for the all the fight choreography and wrote some of the dialogue too. Lee had a vision for how he wanted his own fighting style that he created called June Keet Do, to be represented on the screen.

This is Lee's only American movie and it has all the trimmings of a big Hollywood production. There are many great fight scenes that Lee did throughout his films, but I think the ones presented in this are by far his best.The plot is simple. Bruce basically plays himself, a master martial artist with a unique philosophy. He is hired by British Intelligence to enter a secret martial arts tournament that takes place on an island. Lee agrees to the mission and he has very personal stake in the matter. It's fairly evident that Enter the Dragon was an inspiration for the Mortal Kombat video games. The island is suspected of being the center of a drug smuggling operation and prostitution ring. All guns are outlawed on this island, which is a great limitation. In martial arts films, I often wonder why someone doesn't just shoot their opponent when they know they have no chance of winning and are going to die. The island is run by the main villain, Han who is missing a hand and loves to attach deadly weapons to his arm as a replacement.

Lee is joined by 70's stars John Saxon and Jim Kelly at the island, who play former Vietnam war buddies and have entered the Tournament for their own reasons. The three of them each have a flashback sequence complete with murky water fade ins, that explain their back stories. Once they arrive at the island the fighters are treated to a large feast and then are given their pick of the island's prostitutes. It's only in the politically incorrect seventies that we get to see this type of 6 star hotel service on film.

But Lee is not there to see any of the hookers, which helps establish him as the primary hero as many of these women are being forcibly injected with heroin and then sold into slavery. Instead, he makes contact with Mei Leng, an operative working for Britain and she gives him a rundown of the island. After that the tournament begins and it's pretty much fight scene after fight scene until the climax (also a fight scene)

Bolo Yeung, who you'll remember from Bloodsport, stars as a massive sadistic henchman who became semi famous because of this film. There is a scene where he murders four men, by breaking their bones with his bare hands. A common complaint is that Bruce Lee never fights Bolo Yeung. It's surprisingly John Saxon who fights Yeung and defeats him. Another problem is the lack of screen time for Jim Kelly who is set up to a have larger role.It's not all one on one tournament battles, as Bruce is discovered as a spy and has to fight off dozens of guards at the same time. It's in this scene, where he busts out the nunchaku that you see Lee completely shine. It rivals the nunchuck scene from The Chinese Connection and you can easily see how Bruce Lee popularized the weapon. The climax is over-the top and it eventually culminates in a final battle between Bruce and the main villain in a hall of mirrors. It's always an amazing sight to behold.

Enter the dragon has been parodied and referenced so many times in pop culture. It has received the highest critical acclaim for a martial arts film. Bruce Lee displays immense charisma and talent at all times. There are many lines of dialogue that are both witty and classy. It is also a very colorful and visually spectacular film that is fortunately accompanied by a classic funky score by Lalo Schifrin. There are many great martial arts films in existence, but I don't think any of them are as cool and grandiose as Enter The DragonI'm giving it a 9.7/10

Fun Facts: * Jackie Chan plays a stuntmen in the film. Bruce Lee accidentally struck Chan in the face with a stick. Lee not only apologized, but he offered Chan the chance to work on all his movies after Enter The Dragon. Just imagine the collaborations that could have occurred. - Sammo Hung in a uncredited role, has a fight scene with Bruce Lee at the beginning of the movie. It was shot after filming at Lee's request. - Warner Brothers thought international audiences would be confused by the title, Enter The Dragon. They wanted to name the film, Han's Island, Blood and Steel or The Deadly Three. - More than 8,000 mirrors were used in the "Hall of Mirrors". - Bruce Lee suffered some injuries while filming. His hand was cut badly by a broken bottle and was also bit by a snake that luckily had its poison gland removed.

Great review Mr.Daniels, I had no idea about that Jackie Chan thing...what could have been

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Timothy

1/2/2014 23:07:23

My favorite film of all time, the Hall of Mirrors scene is still amazing.

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Jess

1/2/2014 23:53:14

He died way too soon!

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Mathew Myers

1/3/2014 03:20:56

What was the budget for this?

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Villain

1/3/2014 11:44:02

Great movie, only because there is no fights scene between Bruce Lee and Bolo Yeung, also Jim kelly died and not appears at last frenzy fights make this movie little disappointing, but overall this movie was amazing, I really sure that this movie would never can be re maked better or even as good as the original, because this movie was all about Bruce Lee, nobody can replace him